Improvement in machines foe cijjaning and ginning cotton



G. MACDONALD. 'APPARATUS'FOR CLEANING AND GINNING COTTON.

No. 61.078. Patented Jam-8, 1867.

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TO ALL TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN! Be it known that I, GEORGE Mnonompn, of Aston, near Birmingham, in the county of Warwick, England, civil engineer, have invented certain Improvements in Machinery or Apparatus for Cleaning and Grinning Cotton and other fibrous substances and I declare the nature of -the said invention, and the manner in which the some is to be performed, is hereinafter particularly explained, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, and to the letters and figures marked thereon; that is to 'say My invention consists in substituting cylindrical, buffs, made in the manner hereinafter described, fertile roller gins ordinarily employed in machinery or apparatus for. cleaning and ginning cotton and other fibrous substances. I make the acting surfaces of the said cylindrical buds. of compressed fibre, and the fibres which I-prefer to employ are cocoa-nut fibre, hemp, and jute. I compress the fibre of which the bufi is to be made by means of' a screvi or other press, and while in a compressed state I cut it into pieces of the required size and form, and impregnate those portions of the said pieces which are to be attached to the rollers with a strongly adhesive resinous substance in a state of fusion, such as a mixture of Stockholm tar, rosin, pitch, and oil. I

insert the suitably shaped pieces of'the compressed and partially impregnated fibre in compartments made for theirreception on the cylindrical surface of the roller, the fibres being arranged radially or at right angles to the skis of .the roller, similar to the position of the bristles of a. rotary brush. The pieces of compressed fibre are inserted in their respective places on the roller while still under compression. Or instead of inserting pieces of the compressed and partially impregnated fibre in compartments in the roller, the said compressed and impreg nated fibre may be made into rings, and the said rings attached to the roller in the following manner: While the compressed fibre is in the press I stitch over the impregnated portion of the fibre a binding made of leather or cloth. These bound pieces of compressed fibre are then bent into rings and their ends joined. I take a series 1 of these rings of compressed fibre and arrange the said rings on the cylindrical surface of the roller, metal washers alternating with the rings'of compressed fibre, and the said rings and washers are compressed together, and the whole finally bound together by means of a screw cap working or screwing on the end of the roller. Or instead of the arrangement last described, I prepare the rings of compressed fibre in the following manner: I take ringsof the proper size made of sheet tinned iron or brass, or other metal or alloy, the outer surfaces of'which are concave, that is, their edges are situatedhigher than the middle. I arrange around the concave surface of these rings the compressed fibre, and I bind the fibre to the ring at the middle by means of aring or shce'viron washer," or by wire, under u'hi'ch the fibre is doubled, and at the sides by raising the edges of the concave ring in a press. The edges of the ring are thus pressed up against the fibre, doubling up the fibre around the middle washer or wire, and binding it securely between the said washer or wire and the outer raised edges of the ring. After fixing the compressed fibre to the ring the fibre is cut round the said ring to the required size. The rings of compressed fibre made in this way are placed upon metal or wooden rollers, and the said rings are bound together by a screw-cap working or screwing on the end of the roller. By either of the arrangements described there is produced a cylindrical bufi'hasing a continuous cylindrical surface of compressedfibre, which from itselasticity and density, and its capability of seizing and holding the cotton or other fibre, is Jt'ell suited to clean begin cotton or other fibre in place of the rollers ordinarily employed for that purpose.

Having explained the nature of my invention, 1 will proceed to describe, with reference to the accompanyiug di'awing, the manner in which the same is to be performed.

- Figure 1 represents in cross-section a cylindrical bufl' made according to my invention, in which pieces of compressed and partly impregnated fibre are inserted in compartments made on the cylindrical surface of the roller.

a is the wooden roller fixed upon the inner iron spindle b. In the cylindrical surface of the said roller a, a series of equidistant radialgrooves is made, into which grooves strips 0 of tinned sheet-"iron or other hard metal are inserted, so as to form a series of longitudinal compartments, marked 4, in which compartments d the compressed and impregnated pieces of fibre are fixed in the manner represented in the drawing. The ends of the compressed fibre, impregnated with a strongly adhesive resinous substance, aredndicated the'ilark coloring in the drawing, In buildin' up this bullor roller, (fig. 1,) I first compress the fibre by means of a screw or other pressynnd while in a compressed state I cut it into pieces of the lpngtlrand breadth of the compartments d of the roller, and having impregnated with a resinous substance, in a state of fusion the parts of the fibre indicated by the dark coloring on thedrawing, I insert the said pieces or compressed and partly impregnatcd'fibrg, while in a state of compression, into the compartments (1. By these means the compressed fibre is firmly secured in the compartments of the roller, the fibre being arranged radially, similar to the position of the bristles of arotary brush.

Figure 2 represents in longitudinal section another cylindrical bufi' constructed according to my'iuvention,

composed of a series of rings of compressed fibre bound together.

Figure 3 represents a section of one of the rings separately.

Figure 4 represents a section of aring before the fibre is fixed to it; and

Figure 5 represents a front elevation and v Figure 6, .in side elevation, the metal ring and washer employed to bind the fibre together.

In making the ring of compressed fibre, (fig. 3,) I take the concave ring e, represented in figs. 5 andb', th said ring being made of tinned sheet iron, brass, or other hard metal or alloy, and I place upon the middle of the said concave ring a fiat ring or washer-3f, the diameter of the opening in the said washer being equal to that of the sides of the eo neavo ring 6. I place around the concave surface of the said ring e the fibre to be fixed to the said ring, thesa-id fibre being placed or doubled under the inner edge of thefiat ring-f. A ring of fibre in this stage of its manufacture is represented in fig. 4. I take the ring, (fig. 4,) and place it upon acylindrical bed or mandrel of a press used for shaping or raising metals, and by the operation of the said press the curved edges e of the concave ring e are raised into nearly verticalplancs in the manner represented in fig. 3. By the raising of the edges e of the ring e, a fiati'ring is produced having a flange on either side marked 6? in fig. 3, between which-flanges, e, and the washer the fibre is further doubledand compressed and firmlyheld, the fibre at the middle of the ring being firmly kept down by the said washer f. In order to facilitate the bending-of the" edges of the coucaverings against the fibre the said edges may be slit at short intervals. Instead of thering or washer f, a wire binding may be employed. After fixing the compressed fibre to the metal ring e, the edges of the fibre are trimmed or cut to the required size. The ring of compressed fibreisthen complete. A cylindrical bufi', having a continuous cylindrical surface, is made. from a series of these rings of compressed fibre in the manner illustrated in fig. 2; that is to say, I take a metal roller, g, (or a wooden roller may be use (1,) of. a diameter a little less than that oi' the opening in the rings, the said roller having at it's ends axes or spindles. it, upon which the buff or roller turns when in use. One end of the roller'has a fixed flangeor annular shoulder, a, and the other end is provided with a movable collar, k, and screw-nut= oreap Z. By placing a series of the i'in gs of compressed fibre 3) upon the' roller g, and screwing up the screw-nut l, the fibre of the said rings is still further compressed,: and the said rings bound firmly together and held in their places upon the cylindrical surface of the roller. When I construct the cylindrical bufi' or roller of rings of compressed fibre bound, together by a binding of leather or cloth, as hereinbefore explained, I arrange the said rings upon the surface of the roller and compress and fix them thereon in the manner described and represented with respect to rings of coulpressed fibre having metallic foundations or bindings, metal washers in this case alternating withthe rings of compressed fibre, the said washers taking the pl aees of the flanges e? of the rings represented in the drawing,

I am aware that cylindrical brushes have been madewith fibrous material radiating from the aziis of the brush, and more or less compressed in the vicinity of the shaft; but iii such cases the bristles composing the fibrous material have bison arranged to: project considerably beyond their lateral supports, so that the exterior or acting surface was anopen brush surface without material compression. Therefore, I do not claim broadly, a cylindrical brush, nor a cylinder of fibrous material c'dmpresscd at its interior,- but I claim as itny invention making the acting surfaces of cylindrical bu'fi's, to be substituted; for the rollers ordinarily employed in machinery or apparatus for cleaning or ginning cotton .and' other fibrous substances of compressed fibre, snbstantially as hereinbei'ore described and illustrated in the accompanying drawing. I

GEORGE MACDONALD. Witnesses Gnonen- Sniiw, Rrcnnnn Sxrunmr. 

